reuters.com,Thu Aug 10, 2006.
Many troops battling Tamil Tiger rebels in east Sri Lanka were feared dead or wounded on Thursday after an ammunition dump at an army camp apparently accidentally exploded, military sources said.

"We fired artillery all day. Maybe one of the guns overheated and accidentally blew up," said one source. "The dump exploded. We expect lots of casualties and deaths."
More...Discuss this story

A senior rebel official, Seevarathnam Puleedevan, said at least 50 civilians had been killed and 200 injured in the government military operation, but a military spokesman said he was unaware of any civilian casualties.

Puleedevan appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross to help evacuate civilian casualties, saying there weren't enough facilities locally available there to treat them. But ICRC official Davide Vignati said the organization had yet to receive an official request from either side.

At least six government soldiers were killed and 49 wounded and admitted to hospital, a doctor said. A Tiger spokesman, Rasiah Ilanthirayan, said seven rebels had died and 15 others were wounded.

``The situation is worsening,'' said Robert Nilsson, a member of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission. ``Hopefully there will be a change of heart, this has already gone too far.''

The fighting centered around a key reservoir and canal in Trincomalee district, which in recent weeks has seen some of the worst fighting since the country's 2002 cease-fire, with estimates of the number of combatants and civilians killed ranging from about 100 to 300.

Dr. B.G.M. Costa, a hospital doctor in Kantale, a town in the area, said the bodies of five soldiers had been brought in and 35 others were wounded. Two with critical injuries were flown to Colombo.

Military spokesman Maj. Upali Rajapakse said he was not aware of any civilian casualties, but said the rebels were ``known for using civilians as human shields and they place their gun positions around civilian villages.''

``The Sri Lankan army does not target civilians,'' he said.

The rebels closed sluice gates at the reservoir on July 20, cutting water to over 60,000 people living in government-controlled villages, after accusing the government of reneging on a pledge to boost water in rebel-held areas.

The rebels announced on Tuesday that they were reopening the gates, saying that heavy attacks on rebel areas by army troops were hurting civilians, and the military said Wednesday that it had reclaimed control of the waterway.

But the government resumed shelling the area around the reservoir the same day, saying it needed to clear the area of rebels so they would not be able to block the water supply again.

The Tamil Tigers began fighting in 1983 for a separate homeland for the country's 3.2 million Tamils, accusing the 14 million Sinhalese majority of discrimination.

The 2002 cease-fire put a temporary halt to the bloodshed, but the truce has nearly collapsed in recent months. Renewed fighting has killed more than 900 people _ half of them civilians _ since December, the cease-fire monitors say.

Munza Mushtaq in Colombo,August 10, 2006, 12.00 p.m..
Heavy fighting was reported between Sri Lanka's security forces and
Tamil Tiger rebels early morning today (10), after Tiger cadres
attempted to fire showers of mortars at troops facilitating the supply
of water through the Mavil Aru Anicut, which was reopened only
yesterday.

Troops retaliated with mortars. Security Forces suffered few injuries
and the wounded were evacuated to Kantale hospital immediately.
'Operation Water shed' continues, the Media Centre for National
Security said. No immediate details were available of the LTTE
casualties.
Discuss this story

Sri Lanka: Strong International Role Needed in Inquiry on Aid ...alertnet.org,10 Aug 2006 19:29:26 GMT.
New York, August 11, 2006) � The Sri Lankan government should appoint an independent commission with international participants to investigate the brutal killing of 17 aid workers in the northeast town of Mutur, Human Rights Watch said today...

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The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) has termed the ongoing
escalation of hostilities as a 'low-intensity war' which has also
resulted in severe causalities on both sides...

Sri Lanka conflict - Malteser International and FC Bayern Munich ...alertnet.org,Thursday, August 10, 2006 - 19:00 EDT.
Cologne/Colombo. Malteser International and FC Bayern Munich temporarily stop their program "Reconciliation thanks to football" in the district of Trincomalee due to the esca-lating violence in the north-east of Sri Lanka...

Anti-LTTE party sets terms for joining govtDawn,Thursday, August 10, 2006 - 10:30 EDT.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the LTTE bashing political ally of President Rajapakse, is poised to rejoin the government but has cited a military defeat of the LTTE and the abrogation of the Norwegian facilitated ceasefire as two of its main pre-conditions, if it were to become a part of the UPFA government...

LEAD: Gov't attacks in Sri Lanka 's east kill over 45 civilians: rebels+Associated Press,Thu August 10, 2006 08:48 EDT .
COLOMBO, Aug. 10 (Kyodo) (EDS: UPDATING WITH FRESH INFO) Heavy fighting between Sri Lankan government forces and ethnic Tamil rebels broke out Thursday in the eastern part of the island, with the rebels claiming more than 45 civilians were killed in aerial bombardment and artillery attacks by the government side. The military said three soldiers were killed and 31 injured in the fighting while the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam said five fighters were killed and 12 wounded...

More heavy fighting in Sri Lankabbc.co.uk,Thursday, August 10, 2006 - 10:30 EDT.
The Sri Lankan military and Tamil Tiger rebels have resumed heavy fighting in the area of a disputed waterway in the north-eastern district of Trincomalee...

The cost of Sri Lanka s water warbbc.co.uk,Thursday, August 10, 2006 - 10:30 EDT.
After two weeks of intense fighting, water finally began flowing again this week in the Maavilaru waterway in eastern Sri Lanka...

Precision bombing helped Lankan army capture damhindustantimes.com,Colombo, August 9, 2006|12:05 IST.
PK Balachandran
Precision bombing by the Sri Lankan Air Force paved the way for ground troops to capture the Mavil Aaru dam from the LTTE on Tuesday, the government Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwela told Hindustan Times...

Tamil Nadu s decision to send back Sri Lankan police officers ...hindu.com,10 july.
COLOMBO: Tamil United Liberation Front president V. Anandasangaree has taken exception to the Tamil Nadu Government's decision to send back the first batch of 200 Sri Lankan police officers undergoing training in Coimbatore, and said the decision "is not only a hasty one but also ill-advised...

Govt refuses to reconsider ban on LTTEindiatimes.com,10 july.
CHENNAI: National security adviser M K Narayanan on Wednesday said the Centre would not reconsider the ban imposed on the LTTE and that there would be no direct intervention in the Sri Lankan crisis...

Tamil rebels, Sri Lankan military both claim control of disputed reservoirAssociated Press,Wed August 9, 2006 15:59 EDT .
KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Government forces and Tamil separatists fought for a key reservoir Wednesday, and both sides claimed credit for ending a blockade of water supplies that triggered some of the worst fighting in four years...

Breakaway Sri Lanka rebels set sights on electionstoday.reuters.com,Wed Aug 9, 2006 5:50 PM IST162.
By Ranga Sirilal
COLOMBO (Reuters) - A band of breakaway rebels in Sri Lanka whose feuding with the mainstream Tamil Tigers is stoking fears of a return to civil war opened an office in the capital on Wednesday, aiming to eventually contest elections...

LTTE a dangerous organisation: Narayananhindustantimes.com,August 9, 2006.
There is no change in India's policy on Sri Lanka and on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), National Security Advisor MK Narayanan said on Wednesday...

Sri Lanka fighting rages on after rebels end blockadereuters.com,Wed. August 09, 2006 - 15:25 EDT.
TRINCOMALEE (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers said the army killed 5 civilians and injured 18 in a rocket attack on Wednesday, as the government vowed to win control of a water source at the center of the worst fighting since a 2002 truce...

Sri Lankan government says soldiers have reopened disputed canalAssociated Press,Wed August 9, 2006 01:59 EDT .
DILIP GANGULY - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) The government on Wednesday reclaimed control of a key canal that had been blocked by Tamil rebels in northeastern Sri Lanka - , easing a crisis that had sparked some of the fiercest fighting since a 2002 cease-fire...

Sri Lankan patriots want UNICEF to impose 'severe' embargo on LTTEMunza Mushtaq in Colombo,August 9, 2006, 12.44 p.m..
The Sri Lankan Patriots organization based in the United States has
initiated a petition demanding the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF) take immediate action against the LTTE owing to the
organization's scant regard shown upon children's rights and their
security...

Lankan Govt promises to stop take over of Apollohindustantimes.com,August 7, 2006.
The Sri Lankan government has promised that it will restrain a local corporate raider, who is on the verge of taking over the state of the art Apollo Hospital in Colombo...

NRC condemns killings of aid workers in Sri Lankaalertnet.org,Wednesday, August 09, 2006 - 06:41 EDT.
NRC deeply concerned over situation in Sri Lanka:
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) strongly condemns the killings of 17 aid workers from the French organisation Action Against Hunger in north eastern Sri Lanka...

Sri Lanka rebels end water siegewashingtonpost.com,Wednesday, August 09, 2006 - 06:41 EDT.
TRINCOMALEE (Reuters) - Water flowed to thousands of farmers in east Sri Lanka for the first time in three weeks on Wednesday after Tamil Tiger rebels lifted a blockade, but there was no end to the worst fighting since a 2002 truce...

Sri Lanka s postal service looks to financial service for solace ...lankabusinessonline.com,Wednesday, August 09, 2006 - 06:41 EDT.
TRINCOMALEE (Reuters) - Water flowed to thousands of farmers in east Sri Lanka for the first time in three weeks on Wednesday after Tamil Tiger rebels lifted a blockade, but there was no end to the worst fighting since a 2002 truce...